Visiting Acadia National Park

We are stopped at Mt Desert Narrows Campground for 4 nights. The weather forecast indicated that Sunday was going to be very rainy, and Saturday would be overcast. Monday is predicted to be clear and sunny, but we decided we should go ahead and head out on Saturday and enjoy what we could.

This is a picture from Friday after we arrived - showing our campsite at Mt Desert Narrows.

On Saturday morning, we drove to Mt Desert Post Office to pick up our mail that we had requested to be sent to General Delivery. Carl went in to pick up the package -- the fellow in the Post Office was so happy to meet Carl - he was quite gregarious and enjoyed talking! I guess they don't get much General Delivery mail.

On our way back to the rig, we stopped by the Acadia National Park Visitors Center...

We had read some about the Carriage Roads online, but wanted to get a map that we could carry with us while bike riding...

... getting a map required waiting in line, but the line went pretty quickly. When we got to the front, we asked about the Carriage Roads, and were given a map and information about where we could park to access them. The ranger also told us about his favorite segment of the carriage roads.

From the National Park Service website (https://www.nps.gov/acad/planyourvisit/carriage-roads.htm):

Forty-five miles of rustic carriage roads, the gift of philanthropist John D. Rockefeller Jr. and family, weave around the mountains and valleys of Acadia National Park. Rockefeller, a skilled horseman, wanted to travel on motor-free byways via horse and carriage into the heart of Mount Desert Island. His construction efforts from 1913 to 1940 resulted in roads with sweeping vistas and close-up views of the landscape.

The roads were built to preserve the line of hillsides and save trees, align with the contours of the lands, and take advantage of scenic views. Approximately 16 feet wide, the carriage roads are an example of broken-stone roads commonly used at the turn of the 20th century. Gate lodges act as impressive welcomes to the carriage road system, stone-faced bridges span streams, waterfalls, motor roads, and cliff sides. Granite coping stones used as guardrails line the roads, affectionately called "Rockefeller's teeth."

Today, carriage roads have multiple-user groups as they did in the past. Pedestrians, bicyclists, and horse-drawn carriages share in the beauty, access, and safety of these auto-free roads across the park. Certain roads are extremely popular, so exercise courtesy and caution, and avoid surprise encounters.

The carriage roads are hard packed with crushed rock surfaces...

... and numerous bridges passing over streams or wash areas.

This picture was taken from "Waterfall Bridge"

Carl was leaning over the side of the bridge talking to some folks who had hiked up to the waterfall and were now trying to figure out how to get back up from the stream to the carriage road.

In some places we could see views out to the harbors and ponds and sounds around Mt Desert Island.

Coming up on another bridge

The bridges that we crossed were built in the 1920s-1930s. In 2021, the park and its partner, Friends of Acadia (FOA) completed a decades-long rehabilitation of the entire carriage road network.

Our pictures would have been better if it had been a brilliant sunny day, but we enjoyed our ride even though it was overcast.

Maybe if Monday is sunny, we'll ride some of this again!

Heading back to the parking area.

We also replaced the spare tire into its proper spot when we stopped to go riding -- it had been in the back of the Jeep between our two e-bikes. The place where it normally rides is under the Jeep, but to release that holder, we have to take the bikes out of the back, so we decided to combine the two activities. It is nice to have our Jeep back to its more "normal" fullness (with the spare in there, we really had very little room at all). And we enjoyed getting the bikes out and riding a bit.